Reunited
by OceansAria
Summary: "Reunited and it feels so good..." Jim and Ariel are reunited after years of being apart.


He stared at her, his soul ripping, shredding itself from the inside out as the wretched man who had stolen her away from him, _Eric,_ stepped out of the castle behind her, putting his hand on her petite waist. "Everything okay, sweetie?" the man asked, eyeing Jim.

Ariel nodded slowly, her eyes never leaving Jim's face as she took in the scars, the sun-tanned skin, the muscles that her fingers had traced on hot summer days that were still there, still apart of the boy she had loved when she was sixteen. But she was twenty-one now. That had been five years ago. _And, boy, did those five years do good to Jim,_ she caught herself thinking. She bit her lip, recalling his soft, warm lips as they curled up on the sand. She had loved him with all that she had in her, and he'd left for five years, without even proposing, leaving her all set to be an old maid. So, when she had saved Prince Eric, and he'd offered her marriage, she had snapped it up without another thought. Though, the whole time, throughout the process of wedding planning, in her mind, she had seen Jim's lovely grey-blue eyes instead of Eric's baby blue ones.

"Ariel?" Jim whispered, breaking her train of thought, his eyes as intense as ever.

She straightened, acting like the princess she was. "Mr. Hawkins, I am perfectly happy and engaged and I do not intend to be rude, but you are not welcome in the palace, nor on the grounds. The next time I, or anyone else for that matter, catches you here, you will be thrown into the jail at once and locked up for the rest of your days for trespassing on the future queen's orders." Ariel gulped, wishing that she could just jump on him and kiss him to pieces like she really wanted to. While giving him a butt-whooping at the same time.

His jaw tightened and he stepped down onto the step below him. Bowing rather sarcastically, he hissed, "If you insist, Your _Highness."_

She watched him turned to leave and stalk off, and waited until Eric had left as well before she ran after him, whisper-yelling his name. He burst out of the bushes, wrapped his arms around her waist, tugged her up against him, and kissed her so hard on the lips she was sure her mouth would bruise, but she didn't mind as Jim dragged her back into the bushes with him where they could converse in private.

Against her lips, he murmured happily, "You were awesome, love."

She grinned. "Back at ya, space ranger."

He kissed her softly and sweetly then, braiding his hands into her hair, and she gasped, running her hands up his back and over the shaved parts of his head and twisting his little braid around her finger. He groaned, his hands skimming the soft skin just under her blouse and then they were crazy again for a while, until she broke away, breathing heavily, saying, "Okay, okay, I really want to know how you got off so easily with your captain that you could come back," with a huge grin as he kept his arms around her, smiling as well.

He sighed, as she giggled, so overly happy and yet-somewhat troubled-to have him back.

"Well," he began, "The captain let me off easy, because, well . . . _I'm _the captain."

Her eyes widened into the size of dinner plates. "WHAT?"

He laughed. "Yeah."

She hugged him tightly around his neck and pecked his cheek. "That's AMAZING, Jim! I'm so happy for you! Now you can travel when and wherever you want and you can get your own ship . . . and . . . and . . ." She stopped, stuttered, and began to back away from him. "And never see me again." She thought about the last time he'd left. She bit her lip. "_Again,_" she whispered.

He grabbed her hands and pulled her back, grinning and shaking his head. "No. That means that you can come with me, and explore, and leave all of this behind." His beautiful eyes hardened slightly as he continued, "Your engagement, this town, this castle, _Eric,_" and then he was smiling again, whispering conspiratorially, "And we can run away together, just like we've always wanted to."

He swung her small hands in his large, scarred ones as she bit her lip, deep in thought. His heart dropped further with each passing second, but then her eyes turned up to his, bright, turquoise, and promising.

"Yes," she murmured. She pressed against him as a set of guards walked past the bushes, and talked into his chest. "I will go with you. You have been the owner of my heart since the day we met and you have never lost it."

He stared down at her when she stepped back. His eyes were shining. He was the most handsome, beautiful, lovely thing she'd ever seen-scars, troubles, and all. He had a past, so did she, but she could deal with it; she had before. She loved him, and she saw the diamond in the rough in him.

Ariel hoped it was the same way he saw her.

He kissed her hard, harder than ever before right then, and whispered a million times that he loved her more than anything in the world against her lips. When they finally broke apart again, she said, "I'll go get my things."

And he grinned and laughed. "Meet me at the cliffs at evening light. I'll be waiting."

Then he slunk into the shadows, as silent as the sea during the eye of a hurricane, and she bit back a squeal of glee as she hopped off to her chambers to gather her things, leave a note for Eric, and then go and say goodbye to her ladies maids that had treated her so dearly for so long.


End file.
